Thursday, February 16, 2012

Overlook'DDD in the Linsanity

While the waves of “Linsanity” produced by Jeremy Lin have been felt nationwide and his impact to the Knicks during their 7 game winning streak is unquestioned, an overlooked aspect of the teams’ recent success has been the one glaring weaklink of the team since Mike D’Antoni became head coach: The team Defense.

I, for one, have always been a proponent that the players are more responsible than the coaches for how effective they play defensively.  Coaches can certainly help with scheme, matchups and intricate strategies in certain key situations of a game, but when it comes to overall effort, personal pride, and downright “on the fly” basketball IQ, these are aspects that coaching has little to no impact on while the ball is in play.  



According to basketball-reference.com’s  Defensive Rating (DRtg) metric (one I personally trust the most), the Knicks are currently ranked 5th in the NBA (and that’s not a misprint, folks). That’s up 17 spots after a ranking of 22nd a year ago.  In  D’Antoni’s first 3 seasons as head coach, the Knicks average DRtg rank?: 24.

So why the big jump this year?   Is it because a) the coach suddenly became ‘smart’ about defensive gameplanning and scheming?  b) because Mike Woodson graced the Knicks presence with his defensive brilliance (Hawks average DRtg rank in Woodson’s 6 years there?: 20th)    Or is it c)  because the defensive personnel has improved at some critical positions? 

Coop in Philly goes with choice c). 

Two tremendous new roster additions from last season have stood out. 



Tyson Chandler is an elite defensive Center.  Communication, leadership, rebounding, shot altering & shot blocking, his athleticism in help defense, pick and roll defense; all things Tyson’s brought to the table as he’s been the best and most consistent Knick of this season to date.

Perhaps the biggest benefit he brings is the ability to defend 1 on 1 in the post without a double team (something that makes coaches look brilliant).

The second player who’s flown under the radar in mainstream America is 1st year player, Iman Shumpert; a guy I pegged an elite defensive player after watching 2-3 games of film.  From what I’ve seen as this season has played out, I stand by my initial scouting report. 



Listed at 6’5, 220 pounds, Shump is truly a special, shutdown player from the backcourt, in the ilk of Tony Allen, Bruce Bowen.  He defends 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s, has very quick feet, a wingspan of a 6’11 player, anticipates and positions his body well to force ball handlers to change directions, and he is a master of the “strip low” technique; getting his hands on the ball as a ballhandler picks up his dribble preparing to take a shot or make a pass.  

He has lightning quick hands, incredible anticipation with basketball IQ and instincts to go with his physical gifts.   His 4th quarter lockdown job against Jose Calderon in Toronto was a beauty to witness; perhaps an even bigger reason for the victory than Lin’s late game heroics.


I’d be remiss if I didn’t also give a major shoutout to Jared Jeffries, who’s commitment on defense, his help and recover skills, drawing charges (4th in the NBA) has always been a positive of his game.  He’s been a vital cog to this defensive renaissance. 



So the next time you hear a famous TNT analyst who shall remain nameless, or any ESPN ‘expert’ analyst breakdown the 2011-2012 Knicks and still mention defense as being a problem, you can pretty much disqualify any and everything else that comes out of their mouths about the team. 

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